FRISCO – Sam Houston State coach Willie Fritz, who has led the Bearkats to within one win of the school’s first football national championship, will sign a reworked contract at the end of the season, athletic director Bobby Williams said Thursday.

The new deal for Fritz, whose top-seeded Bearkats face No. 2 North Dakota State in the Football Championship Subdivision national title game Saturday, will include a “substantial raise, more years” and upgrades in coaching salaries for his assistant coaches, Williams said.

“We’ve redone (the contract) and getting ready to sign a new one,” Williams said.

When Fritz was hired prior to the 2010 season it marked the first time a Sam Houston coach (in any sport) had received a contract.

Fritz has gone 20-5, the best two-year record in the program’s 96-year history, and led the Bearkats to their first outright Southland Conference title and 14-0 record.

“He’s made our program better,” Williams said. “We’d love to keep him as long as we can.”